Congrats! You Got the Job. Now What?
Written by Calvin Wang, PCA
Hey there! I hope you had an excellent winter break and are getting back into the groove of school. For those who already have summer internships lined up and are wondering what to do with their time after spending all those hours filling out applications and practicing interviews, read on! It is very important to continue to prepare, practice, and make good use of your time this semester leading up to the big job. Below are some strategies that can be helpful in making sure that you are fully ready and prepared for the work that you plan on doing in the summer. By impressing your employer with an outstanding summer intern position, the possibilities are endless from there: returning next summer, getting a full time offer, recommendation letters, connections in the industry, you name it.
The following are some helpful ways to begin preparations for the summer, months before your first day at work.
- If there are technical aspects of your job, such as Capital IQ, Bloomberg, coding, or specific data analytics software, become certified and start learning the in’s and out’s of the technology. The Cutler Center has plenty of Bloomberg Terminals that are free for all Babson students to use, so take advantage of such opportunities. For those who need to brush up or learn some computer programming, CodeAcademy is an excellent free tool to learn and fine tune your coding ability. Lynda.com is another great online site with video tutorials on software, creation, and business skills. Learn and practice with the technology you are using so that you are more informed about it and there is less of a learning curve when your job actually begins.
- Familiarize yourself with the industry you are going into. This is applicable for all fields in the spectrum. I suggest emailing and cold calling alumni in the field that you will be working in, and finding out more about what they do on a daily basis and what it takes to be successful in that field. They don’t even have to be alumni who have worked in the same company as you – in fact, it might be useful and insightful to see what people in competing firms in your industry do. Helpful sites here include Glassdoor.com and Wetfeet.com – you can get an insider view on your company (including pay scale) and gather more information in order to prepare for the summer.
- Get book (or other reading) recommendations from your boss. In this day and age, lots of us college students do not read as many books as former generations did, which is a little disheartening. One way to make a great impression and show off your intellect to your employer can be to ask your manager or boss for a book list – and read them before the summer starts! It is a great conversation starter with your employers and you will learn a lot from reading the books that your boss recommends.
- Take relevant coursework. No matter what field you are going into in this summer, try to take a class or two that is relevant to the work you will be doing. There are community colleges, adult education centers, online classes, and Babson courses available that may prove to be useful regarding your field. This is a great way to bolster your knowledge about the industry from an academia point of view and can uncover questions about your summer job that you never knew you had.
- Have conversations with older peers who have had experience in the field or with your employer. With all of the different clubs, Greek Life organizations, and PCAs, there are a myriad of people available who can give you tips and insider knowledge about a firm. Use your network! They would be able to give you a real, down to earth, non-sugarcoated inside view on working with the firm and what to expect. It may also be helpful to find out what they did to prepare and what they did on the job that was successful. Even more down to the nitty-gritty, they might be able to let you in on some of your boss’ special quirks or personality traits – allowing you to prepare both mentally and knowledge .
These are some of the ideas that I have in order to prepare for the summer. If you have other suggestions, or have comments about the above, my email is . As always, we are happy to meet with you 1 on 1 at the CCD. Walk in hours are every day from 1-4pm, or you can schedule an appointment via Handshake, found on the portal.